conquer
/ˈkɒŋkə
/verb [with object]
1Overcome and take control of (a place or people) by military force: he conquered Cyprus figurative they’ve conquered new markets in Japan (as adjective conquered) a conquered people...
- You begin with a starbase and a couple of other structures and ships, and must collect resources to build massive strike forces to conquer an area of space.
- By controlling the countryside, they conquered the towns.
- After a while, there is no point trying to conquer the place, and the soldiers go home, leaving a force of a few men who are soon integrated into the country.
Synonyms
defeat, beat, vanquish, trounce, annihilate, triumph over, be victorious over, best, get the better of, worst, bring someone to their knees, overcome, overwhelm, overpower, overthrow, subdue, subjugate, put down, quell, quash, crush, repress, rout
informal lick, hammer, clobber, thrash, paste, pound, pulverize, demolish, destroy, drub, give someone a drubbing, cane, wipe the floor with, walk all over, give someone a hiding, take to the cleaners, blow someone out of the water, make mincemeat of, murder, massacre, slaughter, flatten, turn inside out, tank
British informal stuff
North American informal blow out, cream, shellac, skunk, slam
US informal own
seize, take possession of, take control of, take over, appropriate, subjugate, capture, occupy, invade, annex, overrun, win
1.1Successfully overcome (a problem or weakness): a fear she never managed to conquer...
- Each flag signals that the driver of the vehicle is clinically obese, and would welcome help from passers-by in conquering the problem.
- Who, after all, could deride the allocation of funding to the process of conquering the problems associated with those issues?
- Last year, 58 addicts were treated, of which around 20 are believed to have conquered their problems.
Synonyms
overcome, get the better of, control, get control of, master, gain mastery over, get a grip on, deal with, cope with, surmount, rise above, get over;
curb, subdue, repress, quell, quash, defeat, vanquish, beat, triumph over, prevail over
informal lick
1.2Climb (a mountain) successfully: the second Briton to conquer Everest...
- Many attempt to climb this mountain but the climb is steep and on loose scree; to be physically fit and have a real desire to climb is essential to conquer this small mountain.
- Until that point, the action has centred on two mountaineers who have come adrift from each other after conquering a peak never climbed before (or since - this is a true story).
- James always had his sights set firmly on conquering the mountain and prior to the climb the spirited and adventuresome youngster trained for five weeks in the Commeragh mountains.
Synonyms
climb, ascend, mount, scale, top, crest
1.3Gain the love, admiration, or respect of (a person or group of people): the Beatles were to leave Liverpool and conquer the world...
- Establishing themselves first in the highly competitive Cork music scene, they then went north to Dublin to conquer the capital.
- For a time in the 1970's they were the British band that conquered America.
- Its success is quite impressive because of the fact it is all about a German band that conquered Europe with hits on the German language.
Derivatives
conquerable
/ adjective ...- And because it is a tiny island, it is conquerable, it is yours.
- The greens have long been the defence of Augusta, but now they seem conquerable.
- ‘I felt this market was conquerable,’ he responds, ‘so I was on my white horse trying to prove I could sell through this.’
Origin
Middle English (also in the general sense 'acquire, attain'): from Old French conquerre, based on Latin conquirere 'gain, win', from con- (expressing completion) + quaerere 'seek'.
conker from mid 18th century:
Children originally played conkers not with horse chestnuts but with snail shells. The word conker is first recorded in the 1840s as a dialect word for a snail shell, and may have originally come from conch (Middle English), a kind of mollusc, which is probably also the origin of conk (early 19th century), meaning ‘the nose’. On the other hand, conker could be related to conquer (ME, from Latin conquirere ‘gain, win’), which was how conker was often spelled. Indeed, an alternative name for the game at one time was conquerors. Horse chestnuts seem to have replaced snail shells late in the 19th century.